More January racing in Texas

Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
Last week was over 20 knots, but this week was another drifter. A frontal passage gave us a little wind and a lot of rain for part of the race. Enjoyed every minute of it. We were the last boat to cross the finish before time expired.

 
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Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
It made me laugh to read that a race in Texas was called an "Icicle" ... race.
Anyhow, it looked like a good time on the water.
Thanks for posting the video.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
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DArcy

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Feb 11, 2017
1,690
Islander Freeport 36 Ottawa
Good thing you stuck it out, pulled off a 2nd! And you even made the news:)
Thanks for posting, us Northerners need a sailing fix (even vicariously) now and then.
 
Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
It made me laugh to read that a race in Texas was called an "Icicle" ... race.
Anyhow, it looked like a good time on the water.
Thanks for posting the video.

-Will (Dragonfly)
I guess it's tradition to call a race an "icicle race" when it's in the winter. I think the average January high for Kemah is 64. But here's a photo of an actual icicle hanging from the mainsail cover in an icicle race in 2017, about 30 degrees for that race. And then 70 the next week.
20170107_104529.jpg


About 65 this Saturday, 12 knots SE. Reverse course race, NE from 1 & 2 to E on the 1st leg, could mean a-sail reaches on 2 legs and no tacking on the middle leg. Just what Hunters like. Maybe one tack, it might be just a little too tight to make the second mark without tacking.

IcicleCourse.JPG
 
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Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
We ended up third in class. Had a blast. Epic spinnaker run last leg. One more Icicle race on February 1st, the annual "Judge Smails" Regatta. Still editing a video from Saturday, in the meantime...

 
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JRT

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Feb 14, 2017
2,037
Catalina 310 211 Lake Guntersville, AL
@Bill19233 love your updates! Every time I watch them I think, I need to know what club this is and best location to move there! I need white sandy beaches to sell this to the wife too.
 
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Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
@Bill19233 love your updates! Every time I watch them I think, I need to know what club this is and best location to move there! I need white sandy beaches to sell this to the wife too.
Thanks, there is a great sailing community and infrastructure around Galveston Bay and Clear Lake. You can race as much as you want at about any level. Or if you just want to unfurl the sails for a few hours, the bay is just a few minutes from a dozen marinas. There isn't a lot of local destination sailing to do, Galveston Island and back from Kemah is a full day and there is a lot of commercial traffic to deal with.
There are miles and miles of sandy beaches on Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island, but it's a tad bit darker shade of white than Florida and the water isn't exactly a sapphire blue. When you've got seven million people with in an hour of the bay, there's bound to be a few sailors in that group.
 
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PaulK

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Dec 1, 2009
1,222
Sabre 402 Southport, CT
What’s with the beer open before leaving the marina? And isn’t it supposed to be Rum?
 
Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
What’s with the beer open before leaving the marina? And isn’t it supposed to be Rum?
I think those green bottles and cans in the video are probably Mountain Dew or 7up. We left the marina at 11:00 AM, that's a little early to be drinking beer, even for a sailor. TMSAISTI
Bottles of rum are the prize for win, place, or show in each class. I don't really drink much of it myself. But, everyone shares it at the race party after it's awarded. We didn't get any this time, they only went two deep in our class. The sponsor may be cutting back on the cases and cases of rum they're normally providing as prizes.
I didn't count the boats out for this race, last race there were over 60, looked to be more this race. Last race in the series next Saturday is the "Judge Smails Regatta", some boats go all out with a Caddyshack theme.
 

DArcy

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Feb 11, 2017
1,690
Islander Freeport 36 Ottawa
Bill, regardless of how well you finish, it looks like you are really enjoying the race. I like that you appreciate the important things such as cockpit cushions while racing ;)
 
Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
Not in January, but here's the link to the YouTube video of our boat in the fifth and last GBCA Icicle Race on Galveston Bay last Saturday, February 1st. It was also their annual "Judge Smails Regatta". Great weather, winds were a little funky, a really good time for everyone. Except for the guy hit by the spinnaker pole at 4:16 on sail number 586.
 

PaulK

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Dec 1, 2009
1,222
Sabre 402 Southport, CT
Nice footage and fun TV coverage! If you want to stay ahead of that Alerion, maybe try getting weight out of the cockpit & off the taffrail.
 
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Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
Another February race last Saturday. Icicle races are done, we ended up third in that series out of about ten in our class. Four or five class boats made all five races with us, but there were fifty plus boats total racing in all classes each race.
This was a Peanut Regatta, 8 boats raced. Jeanneau 379 passed us on the windward second leg, couldn’t catch him on the downwind last leg. Too deep downwind for our code 3, need an a-sail like the Hunter 34 has. Awesome weather, really fun. Dani did great steering and raising the a-sail. Not going to let Simon climb up on the arch again, not safe at all.

 
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PaulK

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Dec 1, 2009
1,222
Sabre 402 Southport, CT
Nice going! 2nd place? Noticed fewer people in the cockpit. Perhaps someone at the mast could jump the Asym halyard to get it up faster. Then cockpit crew would only have loose line to pull in. Would easing the halyard a touch get the Asail out away from the rig and help on the “too deep” angles?
 
Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
Nice going! 2nd place? Noticed fewer people in the cockpit. Perhaps someone at the mast could jump the Asym halyard to get it up faster. Then cockpit crew would only have loose line to pull in. Would easing the halyard a touch get the Asail out away from the rig and help on the “too deep” angles?
Yes, second, about 10 miles, just eight boats this time, the Jeanneau 379 got first. Except for the big cat, all are similar size and competitive with each other. We’re trying to get more boats interested in the Peanut Regattas, good practice, they had 38 races last year.
Very good points, the asym halyard is internal and comes out of the mast too low to “jump” up. Bad design.
A knowledgeable racing expert on this forum said to ease the spin tack when it’s pulling to windward and tighten it when it pulling to leeward (where is JD?). So, I would assume that goes the same for the halyard. It may have helped us sailing that deep with a code 3 meant for 120 not 160 degrees, I will try to remember next time. The red C & C behind us was wing on wing and the Hunter 34 had a proper downwind a-sail, maybe a code 5. We may have been faster if we went wing on wing, but the spinnaker is more fun and I wanted the practice.
 
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PaulK

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Dec 1, 2009
1,222
Sabre 402 Southport, CT
Too bad about the halyard not exiting up high on the mast. Could a crew pull on it as it leaves the mast base and goes aft? Short tugs coming off the winch is simply slow.
 
Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
Too bad about the halyard not exiting up high on the mast. Could a crew pull on it as it leaves the mast base and goes aft? Short tugs coming off the winch is simply slow.
Yes slow, but can't pull at the base, only about a foot exposed from the base block before it goes under the deck and then comes out right in front of the clutch at the winch. All the halyards, reef lines, and mainsheet on a 340 go under a second deck or cover between the mast and the clutches.
I need to raise the spinnaker right at the windward mark, not a couple hundred yards downwind. And get more practice so we can set and douse it without the sock.
Last few races I've been concentrating on mainsail trim, trying to get upwind mainsail twist right in the different wind speeds. Trimming twist with my modified 16:1 vang is easy, knowing where to set it is not. I've found that little adjustments make big speed differences on the oversized main on the B & R rig. Still trying to get it right, and it doesn't help that some of the telltales lie to me, I'm going to replace the liars I catch with honest ones.

Latest video update link, I don't know if my Hunter 340 was designed with this in mind.
 
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PaulK

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Dec 1, 2009
1,222
Sabre 402 Southport, CT
Just read Buddy Melge’s book about sailing smart. He suggests pulling the spinnaker halyard up straight-armed - grabbing the line with one hand and pulling it off to the side, and then to the other side with the other hand , without bending the elbows - perhaps twisting the torso instead of bending the arms & pulling towards you. Worth a try. We have a fractional rig and main trim - vang, traveler and sheet - ARE important. Two inches on the traveler can add a half knot for us in some conditions. We watch the telltales AND the speedo. The speedo doesn’t lie, even if the telltales are doing weird things.